Bafety-island light fixture



March 11 1924-.- 1,486,223

F. BRUEGGEMAN SAFETY ISLAND LIGHT FIXTURE Filed April 25. 1921 2 Sheets-5heet 1 Patented Mar. 11, 1924.

UNITED s'rArE-SRPATENT OFFICE.

mum: nauneomam, or cnxcaeo, rnninorslnssmnoiz. or ONE- EA.LI 'ro wmmnr ma BELL, or cnxcaeo, mmoxs,

SAFETY-ISLAND LIGHT FIXTURE.

Application filed April 25, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it. known thatv I, FRANK BKUEGGEMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain newvand useful Improvements in Safety-Island Light Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

In and about highways, usually at the intersection of; two or more highways, or where there is a rather abrupt turn in the road, it is customary to place what is termed a safety island. As its name implies, a safety Island is supposed to furnis map out, or define a zone to be avoided and often times a zone from which an ofiicer or other traffic ,oflicial can safely direct the traffic. Even though a traffic oflicer is not provided these safety islands or zones are necessary at busy intersections, or at abrupt turns, in order that vehicles may be compelled to take the course around such zone and not make a short cut diagonally across the street or road.

In order that such safety islands may function best it is necessary that they be of such character as easily to be viewed both in the day time and at night. It has heretofore been the usual practice to place a post or pillar in the center of the safet island or zone, at the u per end of whic is positioned a light'enc osed within a' red or ruby globe so that at night a red li ht or globe is visible. While a red globe as certain advantages in that when the light is on it maybe clearly and distinctly seen, it is open to objection in that the base of the pillar, and any surrounding area constituting the safety zone or island is dark, and hence invisib e-so much so that when vehicles in passing the safety zone cannot determine its'bounds accurately and hence ver frequently run into the safety zone and col lide with the base portion of the pillar or stand supporting the light before mentioncd. is ineffective lighting of the ground area of the zone also puts the life of the traffic oflicer in jeopardy. Again in the day time, particularly at dusk, before the li hts are turned on, as well as u on dark ays, it is ditlicult to see the red g obe as its color. then is a dark hue correspondingyery much to the then atmospheric color.

he general ob'ect of my invention is to provide a safety island light fixture which Serial No. 464,081.

shall be better adapted for the pur ose intended. than those heretofore devise A "further object of my invention is to provide a safety island light fixture which shall show at its upper end or part a red light that shall clearly be visible, and which shall provide a white, i. e. non-colored light illumination for, the base or defined area of the safety island.

It fiS also an ob'ectof my invention to provide a safety island light fixture which shall be clearly visible in the day time as well as at night.

his a particular object of m invention to provide an electrical safety island light fixture which shall be of sim 1e, chea ,and durable construction, and which shal function even though the usual enclosing globe shall become broken and the electrical parts subjected to rain, snow and the like.

Another object of my invention is to rovide a safety island light fixture adapte to show both a colored hght and a clear li ht and which can be assembledwithin a ass or globe of standard construction, suc as can be procured in the open market.

Other objects of m invention are to rovide a safety island light fixture which 3 all g be composed of relatively few arts of simple design such as lend themse ves' to quick, and cheap manufacture, and which shall be efficient and durable in use.

My invention consists generally in the form, arrangement, construction and co-operation of the parts whereb the above named objects, together with ot era that will appear hereinafter are attainable; and my invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate what I consider at the present time to be the prefer'red embodiment thereof.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation,- part thereof being broken away, of a safety island light construction embodying my invention.

Fi 2 is a sectional view substantially on the line 22'of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates the respective parts ofv the reflector separated and before they are assembled within the globe.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. V

Fi 5 is a sectional view substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the up er part of the safety island light construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged top view of the porcelain block and connections adapted to receive the incandescent electric lamps; and

Fig. 8 is a view in elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 7.

1, represents a street or roadway in or uplon which is mounted a safety island w ich, as here shown, is composed of an enlarged base portion 2 u standing from which is a post or pillar 3 w llCll is hollow to provide the central 0 ening or duct 4 for the accommodation 0 the electric wires 5. The construction of the base 2, pillar or post 3 and the proportions thereof may vary widely without affecting the invention and the construction shown and described should therefore be considered as by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

At the upper end of the pillar 3 Ihave provided a member 6 which bridges or s Jane the o ening 4 in the post and whiehj f/ cure in place as by'ineans of the 0r bolts 7 and 8 which serve also securely to hold the collar 9 in place. The collar 9 provides the annular recess 10 and I therein there is accommodated the lower or base portion 11 of the globe 12. The globe 12 may be made'of d fferent materials, but I referably choose a glass globe which is ranslucent and white in character and which therefore in the day time is white or milky in appearance and hence-easily visible even at dusk or upon dark days. '1 ie globe 12 is held in place in the collar 9 by means of the set screws 13. This globe 12 is or may be a. standard globe, that is to say one which.

can be procured in the open market and hence which shall have its price fixed by the competitive conditions prevailing in the large pro notion of articles of this kind. The lobe may obviously very in size but I have ound a globe which is sixteen inches in diameter and which has an opening, defined by the annular'portion 11, of about seven inches to be quite satisfactory.

Instead of positioning an ordinary lamp or bank of lamps within the globe 12 I have provided a novel and unique arrangement whereby to display a red light which shall be visible at a great distance, and to direct a non-colored 1i ht downwardly to the base and surrounding portion of the safety island. To this end I osition substantially centralof the lobe a lock 17 which is of somesuitable lnsulating material, such as porcelain for example, and'upon the upper side thereof I arrange a plurality of incandescent lamps 18 and on the under side a plurality of incandescent lamps 19. The details of the block 17, the electrical connections, the sockets for receiving the lamps 18 and ,19, and for carrying currentthereto will be described hereinafter, but for the present, it may be stated that the block 17 is so ported from the bridge 6 by means of t 6 upstandin pipe or conduit 20 through which the fee wires 5 pass making electrical connection with the arts carried by the block 17. lVhen the w lite globe, before referred to, is used, the upper lamps 18 are red or ruby lamps whereas the lower lamps 19 are non-colored or clear lamps. In order to prevent an inter-mingling of the li ht rays of the lamps 18. with those of the l ainps t9 and in order properly to receive and distri nte the light rays from respective lamps I have provideda reflector 21 which as a whole is substantially conical in form, and which has .11 upper reflecting surface 22 and a lower r ecting surface 23. it will be understood that, in the construction herein shown, all of the parts must be so made as to permit of their passe e through the opening in the lower part of t e globe l2 and I have therefore made the block 1?. on which the lamp sockets are mounted, of a size slightly smaller than the said opening. As will he observed hQ B I, the '9 llector 21 is and must be considerably greater in size th'anthe globe opening. 'In order to admit of this construction I have made the reflector 21 in two parts, best shown -in Figs 1, 2 and 3. In Fig. 3 the parts are separated to indicate the form thereof before they are placed within the globe. To assemble these parts in the globe, first one-half of the reflector is inserted and then the other half at which time the assembler by placing one hand through-the globe o ienin'g can bring the end, portions 24 and 25 together, these end portions bein adapted to interlock. and being provided with an opening 26 adapted to receive a, locking pin 27. \Vhen the end portions 24 and 25 are secured together the assembler can then bring' the opposite end portions togetheri in the same way and insert the lock ng pin 25 at which time the parts. Wlll be firmly secured into the conical or annular form desired. Tllt assembler may then per mit the conical or annular reflector to rest on the globe. the lower edges thereof contacting the globe. Thereafter the globe may be placed over the block 17 or, conversely the block 17 or incandescent lamp su port, passed through the opening in the glol i e until it finally engages the upper inner portion of the ponical reflector and ultimatol lifts the reflector away from the globe. t is thus obvious that when the par are in their final assembled condition the conical or annular reflector 21 is supported entirely by the block 17 and that in use the globe 12 is not called upon to carry or support the reflector. g

It should also be obvious that when the lights arena the ruby lights 18 will serve to givea ruby or red glow to so much of theglobe 12 as is above the reflector 21 both by virtue of the direct rays and by virtue of such rays as pass downwardly and are reflected from the upper surface 22 of the reflector and thereupon directed outwardly to serve by way of addin to the illumination of the direct rays. (In the other hand the lamps 19, and the light rays therefrom do not interfere with the colored illumination above referred to but as is indicated by the'direction l'nes and arrows the light rays from the lamps 19 are projected downwardly and hence serve to illuminate the base portion of the pillar, standard, or fixture, and in fact the whole of the area constituting the safety island. Thus I htive provided in a simple and inexpensive device a construction which is ideally adapted to servethe purpose intended. For convenience the space within the globe above the reflector will be referred to as the upper light compartment an( that below as the lower light compartment.

Since from one cause aid another the globe 12 may be broken, and since it is desired to have a light available until the globe can be replaced, I prefer to provide the especially designed lam socket base shown, although it should e understood that many features of the invention are in no sense limited to a lamp socket of any special form. As here shown, the lamp socket, base, or insulator, which, has been referred to generally by reference character 17, is composed of porcelain which is of circular shape and to the upper part of which is affixed two metallic strap members 29 and 30 and to the lower side two similar metallic strap members 31 and 32 which are connected together and secured to the porcelain block by means of the bolts 33, 34, 35 and 36. Centrally of the various metallic strap members 29, 30, 31 and-32 will be found threaded sockets 37 which are adapted to receive standard Edison base lamps. On the upper side of the block 17 I provide the two L-shaped metal members 38 and 39 and upon the lower side two similarly sha ed metal members 40 and 41 which are so p aced as to have the juncture portions thereof centrally dis )osed with respect to the lamp sockets 37, an the end portions of which are connected by means of the through bolts 42, 43, 44 and 45. Likewise at the juncture portions of the respectivemembers 38, 39, 40 and 41 are provided contact bolts 46, 47, 48 and 49. As is well shown in Fig. 7 one of the electric wires is connected to the bolt 42 and the other to the bolt 33 thus bringing the current so that any one or all of the lamps may be lighted and so that the failure or breakage of one will not affect an of the others. The block 17 and the electrical connections thereon will be subjected to rain,

snow and other weather conditions which, in the event the globe 12 should become broken, would be likely to cause short circuits, and hence result in the lam failure. To minimize the danger of this ghave beveled or inclined the upper surface 17 of the insulator block so that water falling thereon will be very quick] and continuously drained therefrom.- is will be seen the block 17 is provided with an outwardly extending rib or annular projection 17" upon [which the reflector 21 hangs or from which it is suspended.

Globe, as herein used means a li ht penetrable casing whether of a glohu? or not.

Clear or non-colored li ht as herein used is meant in contradis'tinction to a color such as red or ruby for example and is not infenlilied to mean an absolutely white or clear From the foregoing it is clear that the obects and purposes sought are accomplished y the structure herein disclosed, but inasmuch as this disclosure Will-suggest to others skilled in the art to which this a pertains, various modified constructions w mmby the substantial objects and purposes of my invention ma be attained, I do not wish to be limited to t e specific construction and arran ement of the arts herein shown and descri ed except onl as may be necessary biy limitations in t e hereunto appended I claim:

1. A safety island li ht fixture embodying therein a one piece gfiobe having a single olpenin therein, means positioned within t e glo e for lightin same, a reflector posi-' tioned within the gobe and dividing the globe into upper and lower isolated light compartments both adapted to be illuminated by said means, said reflector bein larger than said opening in the globe and being split to enable passage thereof throu h said openin 2. safety island i ht fixture embodying therein a one piece globe having a single openin therein, a pedestal for supporting said g obe, means positioned within the globe for lighting the same, a plural sepa rable part reflector positioned within the globe and dividing the globe into upper and ower isolated light compartments, both ada ted to be illuminated b said means, sai reflector when assemble being larger than the o ening in the globe and being formed to irect the light rays in the upper compartment away from the base of the destal and to direct the li ht rays in the ower compartment general y toward the base of the pedestal.

3. A safety island light fixture embodying therein a one piece globe having a single opening in the bottom thereof, means ar shape positioned within the globe for lighting same a reflector positioned within the globe and dividin the globe into upper and lower isolated lig is com artmcnts, both adapted to be illuminated y said means, said re fiector being larger than the opening in the bottom of the globe and being split at a plurality of points to enable passage in disassembled condition through said opening" and to admit of assembly within the globe.

4. A safety island lighting fixture enibodying therein a one piece globe having a single opening therein, an insulator block arranged within the globe and having a lamp socket on the upper side thereof and one on the lower side, and an annular reflector split to periniopassagethrough said lobe o ening, extending between said insul ator book and the inner surface of the globe thereby dividing the globe into upper and lower light compartments.

5. A safety island lightin fixture embodying therein a one piece g obe having a single 0 ening therein, an insulator block arrange within the globe and having a lamp socket on the upper side thereof and one on the lower side, and a conical reflector split to permit. passage through said globe opening, extending between said insulator block and the inner surface of the globe, thereby dividing the globe into upper and lower light compartments, said reflector being positioned to direct any light rays t rat strike it in the upper compartment gel eraliy away from the base of the fixture and light rays that may strike it in the lower compartment generally toward the base of the fixture.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 19th day of April, 1921.

FRANK BRUEGGEMAN. 

